Oscars postmortem: Showrunner on Conan, the tie and biggest moments

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The day after the Oscars, executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor is feeling a bit exhausted. After preparing for Hollywood’s biggest night for months and months, it can feel a little surreal to realize that it’s over. But he’s also feeling good about what he and hundreds of others put together, not just for the nominees and winners but for the millions watching around the world.

“I feel really good,” Kapoor told The Associated Press on Monday. “It is one of those things where you work so hard on putting something together and the next day you’re absolutely exhausted and can barely talk. But it’s still kind of an amazing feeling.”

And no matter how much they planned, the thing that Kapoor, who won an Emmy for the 96th Oscars two years ago, and fellow producer Katy Mullan know is that there’s only so much control one has when producing a live television show. And they are always expecting the unexpected.

How Kumail Nanjiani handled the tie

Perhaps the most surprising part of the night was when Kumail Nanjiani opened the envelope for best live-action short and announced that there was a tie. “I’m not joking,” he said from the stage.

Kapoor said that Nanjiani was given a heads up from Oscar accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers that it was a tie moments before he walked onstage. No one coached him about what to do. And Nanjiani handled the unusual situation calmly and deftly, saying he would announce the winners one at a time, giving both their moment onstage.

“He was kind of like the perfect person to do that at that time,” Kapoor said. “I was so impressed with just how he handled it, how our team handled it. It’s a very fast moving show and it’s really complex from automation to stage cues to our trophy presenters and it is a whole night of choreography. So anytime something unusual happens I just have to give full credit to our full production team of just how aware they are to make those pivots and changes at the last minute.”

Did Conan always know when he was on camera?

Some viewers watching from home wondered whether returning host Conan O’Brien always knew when he was on camera. There were moments when it seemed like he had been caught in a private moment, reacting to what was happening onstage, like during the live-action short speech that was almost cut short.

Kapoor said he can’t speak to that moment because even he’s not sure whether the host was caught off guard.

“Conan is the master of improv and he’s the master of reaction. And sometimes, you know, I, like, I honestly could not tell,” he said. “I heard the cue go out. But the way that Conan played that bit, it could have been a Conan bit. He is one of those people that are so talented. And sometimes you really don’t know what he has planned.”

The ‘Sinners’ moment that didn’t want to end

Those in the audience knew that the “Sinners” performance carried on after the broadcast cut to commercial. Kapoor said they did always have a reprise planned for the juke joint recreation.

“There were so many talented musicians in that segment and I think they were just really living in that moment and wanting to have the party continue because I think the energy in the room felt electric and I really think between the audience and the performers onstage, nobody really wanted it to end,” Kapoor said. “Unfortunately, we had to change over our stage, otherwise we would have left them there a little longer.”

Tough choices and cuts

The producers are constantly monitoring the show’s timing, and while they have a little bit of wiggle room with Disney and ABC, they are always trying to come in at 3 ½ hours or under.

“It’s our responsibility to keep the train on its tracks,” he said. “But really more than halfway during the show is when more crucial decisions have to be made. If we are continually stretching and adding more time, we have to start reining it in.”

One of those tough decisions happened when “Golden” won best original song, and they made the call to cut the speech at the designated time. It wasn’t a slow fade either, but a definitive cut microphone and a full volume orchestra.

“All the nominees are given guidelines of how long they have to speak and ultimately, in a lot of categories where there’s multiple nominees, we’ve asked for them to designate somebody to speak on behalf of everybody that’s nominated in that category,” Kapoor said. “It’s that moment where somebody feels like they’re done and the music has already been called to play. So at that point, the orchestra is playing, we are now moving on to the next segment. But ultimately, at that time in the show, we are now very, very extremely conscious of time. And want to be fair to all the nominees, so that ends up being a tough decision to make.”

Yes, they hoped the in memoriam made you cry

One of their proudest, and most delicately planned, moments was the in memoriam, which included gathering a slew of stars to celebrate Rob and Michele Reiner, as well as Barbra Streisand for Robert Redford.

“The in memoriam this year was really, really special for us,” he said. “It’s one of the most delicate and thought through pieces of the show, because we know how much it means to people. Between our filmmakers, between our orchestrations, between the presenters that actually came on stage. It’s just, yeah, it’s something that we hold very dear and we want to make sure that resonates with not only people in the room, but people at home.”

He added: “Ultimately, if it brings a little tear to your eye that’s kind of us all feeling like we’ve all done a good job to make something memorable happen.”

The importance of good speeches

One thing producers know they definitely don’t have control over is the content of speeches. But last night, Kapoor said, “all the winners really delivered some exceptional speeches,” noting lead acting winners Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley specifically.

“I think they spoke to so many different people around the world from ‘Sentimental Value’ to ‘KPop’ to, you know, thanking mothers,” Kapoor said. “It just shows you that even though we are celebrating film there’s probably a message for almost everybody around the word to celebrate and to feel connected and to come together.”

Hundreds of people behind the scenes

Kapoor wanted especially to recognize the over 700 people who worked on the show behind the scenes, from editors, to caterers, to makeup artists, to costume designers.

“This particular show really employs so many people in Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s so great for the city of Los Angeles, it’s so great for the film community, it’s so great for television. Katy and myself are honored to work with the academy, with Conan and to be able to produce a show that still means so much to people around the world.”

Will Conan return for the 99th Oscars?

Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. As Kapoor said, it’s the day after the Oscars and “I don’t think Conan is taking anybody’s calls.”

But he and Mullan loved working with him again.

“We have been so blessed to work with him these past two years, him and his team, and it’s just a really lovely relationship, and I could not ask for anything better,” Kapoor said.